What is the roadmap for the post – APRC period?

by Arjuna Hulugalle

(January 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The path to political progress is a minefield and treading it has to be done with the maximum caution. Government seems conscious of this and that is why every step is measured. The setting up of the Northern Province Interim Council is therefore a step in the right direction. "Politics after all is the art of the possible".

The Interim Council will not satisfy the TNA. The UNP is programmed to be critical. The JVP will probably have nothing to do with it and naturally the LTTE will reject it. India could also be sceptical as the proposals will be a too little in comparison to the now abandoned Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. India's mindset and preferences on the merger and the demerger of the Northern Province from the Eastern Province was indicative from the following quote from High Commissioner J.N.Dixit's book Assignment Colombo:

"……….Jayewardene emphasised that he was signing the Agreement despite serious opposition from his party, his cabinet colleagues, the Opposition parties, the Buddhist clergy and the JVP. He added that Sinhalese public opinion was opposed even to the temporary merger of the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. He stressed that in this context, the stipulation that the merger would be subject to a referendum by the end of 1988 was an imperative component of the proposed agreement.

Rajiv Gandhi pointed out that a via media would have to be found because any delinking of the northern and eastern provinces at a later date would make the Agreement itself redundant. He said he had agreed to the provision for a referendum primarily to ensure that Jayewardene did not get pressurised by an eruption of Sinhalese sentiments."

It is evident that at best, the proposals submitted on the 23rd January 2008 are motivated by having to come up with something as the Indians and the so-called International Community are breathing down the President's neck demanding a "a credible devolution package as a key contribution to finding a political settlement" (Manmohan Singh- George Brown communique).

The proposals may be meant to also function as a "soother" to "recalcitrant" opinion of the "motley" foreign groups who are insensitive to the gravity of Sri Lanka's dilemma and have already made up their minds as to what they want Sri Lanka to finally accept. Any intelligent and independent analyst will, however, look for a long term road map for a rational solution where firstly, principles will have to be carefully defined and accepted by the people. Principles such as Democracy, Subsidiarity, Trusteeship of Power, Accountability and Good Governance are some of the tenets which will have to take centre stage. That is a tortuous route and few will have the stomach and the stamina for such a course.

Today, more than ever before we have to be very conscious of what one of your readers enlightened us with, a few days back in your paper:

"Progress is not doing better what should not be done at all.

Right Honourable Lord Denning "Leaves from my library"